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SJC Sends 30 Nominees To Full Senate

January 16, 2014

WASHINGTON (Thursday, January 16, 2014) – The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved 30 judicial and executive nominees, including 10 nominees the Committee approved last year and 8 who would fill judicial emergencies.

The Committee’s action today comes as 94 judicial vacancies throughout the country prevent the courts from operating at full strength. The Senate failed at the end of last year to confirm dozens of judicial nominees pending in the Judiciary Committee and on the floor, who were returned to the White House because of Republican delay tactics.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), in a floor statement last week, urged Senators to work together to approve qualified nominees.

“We must not take for granted that we have the greatest justice system in the world, and ensuring this continues requires the Senate to fulfill its constitutional duty of advice and consent,” he said.

The Judiciary Committee is also working toward an agreement on legislation to reform the nation’s sentencing laws. Leahy, a coauthor of the Justice Safety Valve Act, said he was “encouraged by the progress being made to reach a bipartisan and comprehensive compromise on sentencing reform,” and that the Committee would soon consider legislation to address the rising costs associated with the expanding prison population.